


He Is Golden

by Aestheticdenbrough



Series: AUs based off things [6]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King, Rapunzel (Fairy Tale)
Genre: Escape, Found Family, M/M, Rapunzel AU, eddie in the tower, haircut, sonai is mother gothel, surprise eddie has better parents out there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-06-08 21:18:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15252249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aestheticdenbrough/pseuds/Aestheticdenbrough
Summary: Eddie has lived in his tower as long as he can remember, letting his mother up on his long locks, never talking to anyone else, until a very persistent young man comes along.





	1. A Ladder?

Eddie sits on his windowsill, humming an airy tune. He taps his fingers to the beat of his own voice, searching the blue skies for shapes in the clouds. _Cats, dogs, things mother will never let me around_ , he thinks with a bitter sigh, running his hands through his ashy blonde hair, glimmering in the light of the early sun.

Richie whizzes past the some trees on his bike, having gotten a bit lost in the woods but he found a narrow dirt trail, it looks relatively new, and definitely made by _someone_. His curiosity got the best of him. He finds the end of the dirt into the grass, right next to a tall tower made on rock.

He can't find any entrances to the building, he pushes up his glasses, drawing his gaze up to the top until he sees a window and a person who'd been standing in it, but had scurried away as soon as he got into view.

"Hello? Is someone up there?" He calls, shoving his glasses up on his nose and squinting when the sun peeks into his vision through the tree branches.

Eddie takes a few deep breaths, he's never dealt with this before, anyone besides mother, its always been only him and mother, _how is he supposed to act around another boy_? He sits on the bed, rubbing his temples to try and alleviate stress, as he's always been taught.

"Hello? I saw you!" The voice calls up again, "you have a lovely voice, I'd love to hear it!"

Eddie stands again, _is it safe? What if mother gets mad? Oh god she's going to get mad_ , he thinks anxiously to himself, but his curiosity gets the better of him and soon he's at his windowsill again, peering down at the figure below.

"What's your name?!" The figure yells up. "I'm Richard!" He starts, hoping to lighten the situation, vaguely able to see the anxiety on the boy above's face. 

"Edward," the boy calls back, coming into clearer view again. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers!" He yells, running his fingers through his golden locks anxiously.

"I promise I'm not that strange!" The curly haired boy replies, brushing some dust off his trousers, trying to seem more neatly put together than he is.

Eddie looks down wearily at the boy, seeming more chaotic than anything he's ever experienced- one of the first things he's actually ever experienced. 

"Edward sounds a bit lame! I'm gonna call you Eddie!" The boy scouts up when Eddie doesn't respond. "I'll be back tomorrow! I'll bring a ladder!" He informs.

Eddie just nods silently, running his fingers through his hair, not wanting that boy to climb up it- he has no clue where he's been or what he's touched.

Eddie goes back to sit on his bed, eyeing the clock and knowing mother would be home soon. He sighs, looking down at his hands in his lap. _Should I tell her? What would she say? I imagine she'd be mad_.  
.  
After some time, he hears her shrill screech up to his window, "Eddie-bear! I'm ba~ck~!" She calls, "help me up?" 

He gets up, doing as he's told and stepping to the window, lifting his impossibly long locks and tossing them out down to the ground below, hovering inches over the dirt. He feels the uncomfortable tug at his scalp as she climbs, craning his head the other way to try and support her weight. 

She finally arrives at the top, clambering in through the window clumsily, "oh, Eddiebear, you look lovely today," she says, caressing his chin, sending a shiver up his spine.

"I met someone today," he blurts out quickly, looking her in the eye as he says it, looking worried for her reaction.

"No, you didn't," she bites, "nobody is allowed here Eddiebear, you know that, right?" She adds in her usual sickly sweet voice.

"But everyone else is out there," Eddie whines.

"That's the _problem_ , Eddiebear, trust me, I know best," Sonia says, brushing Eddie's hair behind his ear.


	2. Windowsill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie encourages Eddie's rebel side.

"Hello!" The same voice from the day before calls up, making Eddie jump in his spot, his daydreams floating away as he looks down Richard below him.

"What do you want?" Eddie calls back, holding his hair to himself protectively, the thing he's always been taught is the best part of himself, pure and golden and _magical_.

"Someone to talk to! I don't have many friends!" The other boy responds truthfully, being as genuine as he can for even a fraction of a chance. "I brought a ladder!" He adds, gesturing to the wooden object on the ground.

Eddie's lips develop into a frown, his hands falling to his side. "My mother will be home soon! We'd have to be quick!" He gives up, his shout a bit softer and more gentle than the one before. _I don't have any friends either._

The boy below smiles, his teeth a wild mess, Eddie doesn't know how he didn't notice his overbite- a really bad one.

Eddie stands back, staying near his bed as he hears the frustrated grunts and groans below while Richard positions the ladder up to the window, climbing up even as the ladder's balance wavers.

Richie nearly falls in through the window, "Huh, this room is bigger than it looks," he jokes, brushing the dust off his knees, making Eddie cringe.

"Please refrain from dragging dirt into my home, I don't ever get to _leave_ ," he lets slip out, incredibly socially awkward from years of being locked up.

"Oh? That's a bit odd, makes sense though, where the fuck do you keep your doors?" Richie grins, going over to sit at Eddie's desk, sitting not on the chair but on the table, his feet resting on the seat of the chair.

"No, no. No. Don't do that," Eddie says quickly, pulling the chair out from under Richie's feet.

"What the fuck is up with your hair by the way? You're like what? 17 like me? That's fucking mad dude," he chuckles, swinging his legs back and forth.

"Don't ask about my hair," Eddie says defensively, that's all he knows, he's not supposed to talk about it. Mother has warned him over and over for years. _No outside world; hurt, sick, people find out about your hair being magic._

Richie looks a bit hurt by the bite in his tone, just letting out a sigh, "What _can_ we talk about? I'm bored, you're an awful host, Eddie spaghetti," Richie sighs teasingly.

"I'm- you invited yourself hear. And keep calling me that if you want to get hit!" He near shrieks, pacing his room, "And," he sighs sadly, "I get stir crazy too, it's not that bad though, swear."

"Sounds like you need out, spaghetti man," the curly haired boy grins, Eddie unable to focus on anything but his teeth, and how they're so _unruly_ just like _him._

"That's not allowed, I'd get in trouble," he explains anxiously, electing to ignore the nickname this time since he hadn't listened the first time.

"I don't know the meaning of _allowed_ ," Richie smirks, jumping off the desk to pinch Eddie's cheek, "I'm gonna teach you a lesson in being a teenager," he grins, "Your first sneak out!" He grins, adjusting the ladder for them to climb back down it.

Eddie looks at him warily, "My mother would kill me- Richard don't you dare break my windowsill it's my only entertainment."

"C'mon Spagheds, we're outie," Richie cackles, pulling Eddie to the ladder and starting to climb down himself, "c'mon, _princess_ I'll get you home before dark," he promises, rolling his eyes as Eddie gathers up his hair and starts to climb down after him.


	3. The Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie leads Eddie to town.

Eddie's toes curl into the green grass, the sun hitting his face shyly, his hair glimmering under the light. "Woah," he breathes out, squinting under sun exposure that he's never experienced. 

"Right?" Richie asks back sarcastically, punching Eddie's shoulder playfully, "Snap back into it, kiddo," he jokes, poking Eddie's blushing face when he realizes what he's caused.

"I- I'm awake," Eddie says quickly, snapping into it as quickly as he could, embarrassed by his own awe, especially for something that nearly everyone else in existence would consider so normal.

"Don't call me kiddo, say, how old are you anyways?" Eddie adds, perking an eyebrow up in Richie's direction as he waits for a response. 

"Ah! Eighteenerino my good lad! In May," Richie responds in an accent Eddie hasn't noticed him to have until now. 

"I'm older than you," Eddie says pointedly, pulling up his trousers that are just slightly too big for him. "So don't call me kiddo," comes out next, some of the bite leaving his voice. "Where's your accent from?" He can't help but ask the obviously eccentric boy.

"I don't quite know yet, just Richiebrain, quite the place really!" Richie exclaims, starting to walk forward, a hop in his step, seemingly almost dancing as he leads Eddie into the forest.

Eddie is unsure what to think. His mother has read him tales from an old story book, full of old ladies with ill intent and rotten, angry hearts leading boys like him into the woods. His mother's theatrical cackle rings through his head with a wince as his bare feet navigate the path Richie leads him down.

"We're going to town! By the way, it's nice, though people might think you're weird, your hair is fucking long, especially for a guy," Richie says, rambling on as he skips down the path, not as dark as Eddie originally thought it to be.

"Not my fault! My mother- she just likes it this way," he argues, realizing he starts with a defensive shriek that's a bit too embarrassing to keep on, praying Richie wouldn't keep it up.

"Woah! Someone's got mommy issues, maybe I can solve them," Richie says, swiveling around to walk backwards, grabbing at his own crotch teasingly with a joking grin, proving _just_ how annoyed Eddie will likely be by him in the next few hours.

Eddie immediately takes on a defensive stance towards him, "I- I do _not_ have mommy issues!" He argues, stopping in his spot on the pavement. "I love my mother! And- and, she loves me!"

"Loves you so much she keeps you locked up?" Richie asks in a mildly condescending tone, raising his eyebrow before he turns on his heel to face the front as he walks again.

"It's just to protect me," Eddie retorts, jogging to catch up with Richie's long legs, his quick paced walking that Eddie isn't used to. His mom being near his own height he'd never considered his legs short or stubby, but in fact, they seem to be in comparison to Richie's.

"Yeah," Richie shrugs, deciding it must be a lost cause with this boy, considering he's probably never spoken to anyone but the woman he calls his mother. "I'm bored! Race you!" he exclaims to change the subject, bolting down the dirt path. His feet smack against the ground in a way that's so forceful that dust clouds bubble up and make Eddie choke as he breathes it in.

Eddie follows, struggling with the breathing aspect of running with all the dust Richie leaves behind. Though he does catch up, Richie may be fast but he doesn't have good stamina. He's just a few yards down the path, his hands on his knees and doubled over in effort to catch the lost breath.

Eddie laughs slightly, finally having found a good breathing rhythm. He dashes past Eddie until he reaches the edge of the forest. His eyes scan the cobblestone ground of the town square they've approached. He has to keep his jaw from dropping at the scene in front of him. Building after building, bustling people, and _music_ , oh how Eddie loves music.

Richie catches up, putting his hand on Eddie's shoulder, "Nice, ain't it, Eds?" He asks with a smile even as Eddie flinches and shakes his hand off.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Eddie says with little breath backing up his words, the understatement coming out with a break in his voice. His eyes shine with a curiosity he didn't know he could hold. His mother has always kept this from him. She'd always said the world could never be beautiful. God, is she a liar.


	4. Baker's Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Richie adventure out into the town.

The two boys start into town, the bustling noises of residents filling the air around them in a way that comforts Eddie though he doesn't know why. 

The scent of bread and fruit fills the atmosphere. It seems. Dirty. But in a lovely kind of way that he'll never understand. He doesn't think he'll ever understand why he likes it, it's so filthy, his mother would probably scream at the mess. 

Richie looks over at him, his freckles truly showing out in the sunlight. His grin aimed at Eddie moreso than the the town, for he's seen it many times before. But Eddie, Eddie is a completely newfound beauty.

"So, Eds, where you wanna go?" He says, chuckling with his small grin, patting Eddie's shoulder with a soft 'clap'. Eddie looks up at Richie, a bit confused at the question. He knows nothing about this town, he's never been out anywhere. 

He's 18 years old and he's never been out. It's a wild thought that this is so normal for other men his age. He wants to make up for it, 18 years wasted alone that he needs to try out. 

"Everything," Eddie breathes out finally, running hands through his hair to brush it out of his face, looking around himself again as they walk, trying to take in every inch of the scenery.

Richie lets out another airy chuckle, patting Eddie's shoulder a little more firmly now. He smiles at the shorter guy, he's never met someone like him before. So full of curiosity, and an attitude like he truly has never experienced anything. Richie feels like there's a lot of room to play with that way, he can show him everything.

"I've got you, buddy," Richie exclaims, moving his hand up to push his fingers through Eddie's hair, "No wonder your hair was dark, you don't get enough sun, madude," he chuckles, putting his hand back on Eddie's upper back, pushing him ahead of him to his own pace can go to a slight jog.

Eddie pulls away dramatically, "Y'know? We can do everything just the same if I'm in charge," he says pointedly, punching Richie in the shoulder. Though he doesn't put much into it, he doesn't really want to hurt him.

He takes Richie's hand, leading the way proudly between the buildings, getting looks from passersby, but does Eddie care? No, he doesn't. He's full of adrenaline and a curiosity that hasn't quite ever been satisfied and now is his chance.

They walk around, Richie even buys them some homemade bread that they snack on for the entire time they walk the town. The sun leaves Eddie's face red, a bit burnt, his skin isn't as resilient (or already damaged) as Richie's simply for the fact that he doesn't go out. 

They meet a woman who plays the violin, Richie trying to teach Eddie how to dance but Eddie isn't so sure that Richie himself even knows how to dance. His lanky legs are a bit fumbly and too long for his body, and he somehow finds a way to tangle up his own legs in attempt to do the waltz.

After much too short a time period, it starts to drizzle lightly. The drops hit the sandy paved way and make it gunky and muddy, no longer beautiful to Eddie when it's like this. "Richie, I want to go home," he says, trying to keep his voice strong despite the discomfort.

"It's too far, we should go in somewhere. I think most of the shops are closed, but there's a bakery down that way," Richie says, pointing up down the path where they haven't gone yet, Richie letting Eddie take his hand yet again.

Eddie pulls them ahead, still taking the lead as he probably always will. He has something to him that Richie doesn't. A stubbornness that burns deep inside of him and never ceases to go out.

They push the door open with what could be a soothing or even more eerie jingle of the bell, announcing their arrival to anyone else in the store, it was just a little unnerving on Eddie's part, but perfectly normal in Richie's everyday life. 

"Can we sit? My legs are killing me- I never walk that much," Eddie says sheepishly, not wanting to look weak in front of his new friend. But his mother always told him that it was better to be safe than sorry.

Richie nods, pulling him further into the shop to where there are tables for dining, what makes this bakery is his favorite is that he can sit down and enjoy a cookie in here, out of the hot summer sun.

Eddie sits gratefully, "So uh, you come here often?" He asks, trying to make some sort of casual conversation. It makes Richie snicker, Eddie just blushes a bit, not knowing why what he'd asked was so funny.

"You trying to flirt with me, spaghetti boy?" Richie asks with a smirk, leaning himself over the table to poke the tip of Eddie's nose.

"What? No? Ew! No!" Eddie starts fumbling for words, eventually turning even more of a beet red and hiding his face in his arms atop the table, sighing a deep breath of frustration out.

A man comes out of the back room at the commotion, "You boys alright?" The man asks, looking truly concerned for them, seeing them both splattered with the water from outside, and one looking incredibly flushed and flustered.

Eddie lifts his head from the table in surprise. He looks at the man and for a moment it seems that both of them share a moment of strange Deja Vu.

"Wow Eds! You two look alike!" Richie says, cackling a little at his realization, unsure if Eddie even heard him through his obvious deep haze of thought.

Eddie snaps out of it quickly, looking up at the man, "Are you alright, sir? You look like you've seen a ghost," he says, just trying his best to be polite, but he's been more social today than he has in his life.

"No- sorry, you just look like my son just a little, he's been gone for 17 years," the man sighs, chewing his lip. "I'm sorry, I don't want to dump this all on you, young men," the man says, already trying to escape to the conversation into the back room. 

"No- wait," Richie says, seeming to be the only one putting it together. "Spaghetti, is this your dad?," He asks airily, looking like he'd just solved a murder.


	5. Disguise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie cuts Eddie's hair.

Now, the two of them sit at the personal dining table of the man who they learn is called Frank. "So, when did your son go missing?" Eddie asks softly, his hands running through his hair anxiously. 

"Nearly eighteen years ago, kidnapped," the man says, adjusting his glasses, he's equally as anxious as Eddie is. This would probably be the most interesting thing to happen to him since his son originally went missing.

"Holy shit, I'm eighteen," Eddie says, now everything seems like a big deal in this matter. He feels a connection to Frank that he never even felt with mother. Though, that doesn't say much.

For the first time since Eddie had met him, Richie was quiet. He doesn't know if it was shock or if he was tired from a long day but the boy seemed to be hanging onto every word while staring into space, letting it sink in for himself.

"So- does that mean that I was kidnapped? Sonia isn't really my mother?" Eddie says, looking confused but with a hint of excitement. He can't imagine not having to have grown up with her. He'd never admit it but she's pretty awful. 

"You could have been, you look quite a bit like me. Your mom though, you look so much like her," Frank says, his voice soft and comforting, already acting fatherly despite the fact that he'd only been reunited with this boy about an hour ago. 

Eddie nods, "Where is she? My mom?" He asks his eyes wide with curiosity yet again. He feels full of a warmth, feeling like he belongs. Family. He feels part of a family. He's never felt part of one before, he doesn't know why Sonia has always been so awful to him. But it fits together now.

Frank clears his throat, nodding his head in the direction of a shelf, a picture of her sitting atop it, a small canister on it next to it. It sinks in for Eddie then, and his heart sinks just a little. But a small family is better than a bad one.

"She passes away after you were kidnapped. Grief really can break your heart, and you can die of a broken heart, you know," he says softly, chewing at his chapped lips again. "Well, you should probably be careful, in case 'mother' comes back. I'm sure it would be worse if she got you," the man says as he sits up.

He walks over to the drawer, picking up a silver pair of scissors and placing them carefully on the stained wood table. "Be careful, now, don't cut yourself with it," he warns them, before seemingly having been so overwhelmed that he cannot talk anymore.

Eddie looks on, the lights making the silver shine. He chews his own lip, not sure if he even wants to do this. He doesn't know how he can, he's always attached so much of his identity to his long, blonde hair. 

He looks to the silent Richie again, who seems equally confused. "Can you help me?" Eddie asks softly, this feels like an important piece of his life. He doesn't want to do it alone. He may as well share it with the first person to show him compassion.

Richie nods, "You sure, Eds?" He asks softly, twiddling his fingers in his lap. Eddie nods, pushing the scissors in Richie's direction. Richie takes the scissors and slowly stands from his seat to stand behind Eddie.

"How short do you want it?" Richie asks gently, patting his hand on Eddie's hair, rubbing it slightly. Eddie considers it for a moment.

"I want it to look like Frank's," Eddie says quietly, already adopting that man as his main male role model.

Richie positions his fingers in the scissors, taking a lock of Eddie's blonde hair, he snips through it, watching the shade turn a darker brown which makes him gasp. "Guess we don't need dye," he huffs to himself, snipping another lock up by the already cut one.

After nearly an hour of the constant sounds of snipping, Eddie cringes at each on and as he watches feet of his hair fall to the floor, turning a dark brown that he doesn't recognize, besides the image of his apparently real mom on the wall.

"We done yet?" Eddie asks once Richie pauses, sounding almost some level of ashamed. He chews his lip, bouncing his leg in anticipation.

Richie nods before speaking up, "Yeah, you're ready, champ," he says softly. He has Eddie stand around the locks of hair on the floor, already knowing they'll have to sweep it up. 

He sees Eddie, tears running down his face just slightly in some sort of release. He looks down at him, "I think you look lovely," Richie says, dipping down to peck Eddie on the lips, though looking embarrassed.

Eddie flushes a deep crimson at the kiss, "Thank you, really, I feel like I've known you longer than a day, you feel important," Eddie tests softly.


End file.
